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New York police will use drones to monitor backyard parties this weekend, spurring privacy concerns (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday.

“If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD Commissioner, said at a press conference.

The plan drew immediate backlash from privacy and civil liberties advocates, raising questions about whether such drone use violated existing laws for police surveillance.

“It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act,” said Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, referring to a 2020 city law that requires the NYPD to disclose its surveillance tactics. “Deploying drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario.”

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[+] [email protected] -13 points 1 year ago (5 children)

You control the airspace of your property, I don’t think they can legally fly over without permission.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

No, you don't. Not in the sense that you can prevent overflight. The FAA certainly isn't going to let you stop plans from flying over your house.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Also, a drone hovering high over the street can probably see your back yard just as well as if it was hovering directly over your property.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

The definitional boundary is where navigable airspace begins. You do own the non-navigable airspace above your property and you would have a trespassing argument if a drone entered that area without your permission. Where exactly the boundary is between navigable and non is a bit fuzzy but generally it will be at the highest object in the property eg. a treetop.

I still wouldn't mess with the drone though, as another commenter said interfering with an aircraft of any type is a very serious crime.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

True but you may be able to get a judge to agree that it can’t be used as evidence in court.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

FTA it says they're using it in response to complaints, which is probably how they're getting around the 4th amendment and considering the complaint of a large gathering "probable cause". I'd bet my bottom dollar that only complaints in predominantly minority communities will actually be investigated with drones, based on NYPD practices. Just more to add to [email protected]

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